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Mikan's POV-
Walking over to Natsume, I glanced at Mochu who was arguing with him before sitting down.
"Nani? What are you guys talking about?" Natsume looked at me with an expression that clearly said 'Get this idiot away from me'. I smirked and shook my head in response.
'Sorry'. I mouthed. He glared at me and I shrugged. Akame stalked over and tapped on my shoulder.
"Were you talking with that?" she looked pointedly at Mochu who gave her a distateful glance.
"Not exactly. Why?" she groaned and was about to say something when she noticed Natsume sitting down next to me who had taken the manga off his face and was listening intently to our conversation. Natsume glared at her and Akame gulped, dragging me back to where Eri and Hotaru were catching up on the last couple years.
"Who's that hottie?" she asked interestedly. I looked back at her innocently.
"Who? Natsume?" I asked, jerking my head towards him. She nodded enthusiastically. "What about him?"
Akame fidgeted nervously. "Do- do you think you could introduce me?" she asked shyly. All of a sudden, she glanced back at Natsume, then at me. "What alice does he have?"
I laughed. "He has the alice of fire." I explained She gaped and looked at me, aghast.
"That's scary!" she exclaimed. I winced, knowing this was one of the things that had made Natsume turn into such a cold person before I came. I opened my mouth but she interrupted me. "Can you still introduce us?" Akame asked hopefully. I smiled.
"Sure!" I led her back over to Natsume's desk.
"Natsume," I snapped, nullifying his alice as he tried to burn Permy's hair. "What are you doing?" He glanced at me for a split second then went back to his manga.
"What? It's not a crime to try and drive away annoying people." he stated. I rolled my eyes.
"Anyway, Natsume, this is Akame." I smiled cheerfully. "She went to school with me before I came to Gakuen Alice." Akame smiled nervously at him.
"Hi, Natsume." she said shyly.
"Hn." he grunted in reply, not even bothering to look up. I glared at him and huffed.
"You could at least try and be cordial for once." I reprimanded.
"Tch. Whatever, Polka." he grunted. I was about to slap the back of his head when he caught my arm. Akame looked at him curiously. Natsume rolled up my sleeve, revealing the fresh bruises from last night's missions. He looked at me, waiting for an explanation. I hastily pulled the sleeve down and stepped back a bit.
"It's nothing." I said quickly, avoiding his scrutinizing glare. "I accidently hit my arm on a pot last night." I gave him a quick smile. "No biggie." He looked as if he was going to let it go but then snapped his head back when I winced as I brushed my arm against the table.
"Mikan." his voice was dangerously low and Akame started to back away. "What's going on? You have bruises all over you." I shook my head furiously and forced a smile.
"Seriously, Natsume. I'm fine." I said firmly. He stood up and grabbed my hand, careful to avoid the bruises. "Natsume?" I said roughly. "Where are we going?" He didn't reply as he dragged me out the doors. All of a sudden, he caged me up against the wall, his eyes fierce.
"Mikan." he said slowly. "What. Is. Going. On.?" I gulped and my palms started to get all sweaty.
"What do you mean, Natsume?" I asked innocently. He glared at me. "I'm just starting to get more clumsy these days. Is there something wrong with that?" Natsume looked like he was about to say something else but right at that moment, Hotaru walked out with Akame and Eri trailing behind her. Hotaru glared at him and raised up her Baka gun.
"What do you think you're doing, Hyuuga?" she snapped, pulling the trigger. He dodged away only to have another shot smack his face. I looked at her and sweatdropped.
"H- Hotaru!" I exclaimed in surprise. She looked at me and motioned for me to follow. I glanced at Natsume who looked at me dismissively.
"Hn." he grunted, jamming his hand into his pockets before stalking away. I gave a sigh of relief and followed the three girls in silence. We walked to my room and I trudged in, leaving the door open for the others. They slipped in and shut the door. I lay on my bed and sighed. What would have happened if Hotaru didn't walk out right at that moment.
"Mikan." I turned around and looked at Hotaru who was glaring at me. I cringed at the look on her face.
"N- Nani?" I stammered.
"Seriously, do you want me to steal some of Nonoko's healing potion. Cause honestly, you're beginning to worry me a lot." she stated. I shook my head in a silent 'no'.
"No. I copied your brother's healing Alice for some of my really serious injuries." I blanched at her raised eyebrows.
"Hey, so Natsume doesn't know that you're doing all these missions?" Akame questioned. I shook my head.
"No. I wouldn't want to worry him anyways." I smiled and my friends looked at me doubiously.
"I think he's worrying about you already, Mikan-chan." Eri stated. I sighed sadly and looked down at my feet.
"I can't help it. I would use the healing alice to heal all my injuries, but it makes me exhausted. I can't afford to fall asleep in class." They looked at me with sympathy as I racked my head for another topic. "Hey, have you guys heard about the new talent show in a couple days?" I questioned. Hotaru gave me an annoyed look, clearly stating her disapproval at my change in topic. I ignored her. Eri and Akame, however, perked up at this comment and gave each other sly looks. I immediately regretted choosing this to talk about.
"Mikan.." Eri started. "Which song are you going to sing?" I stared at her.
"Did I unknowingly mention that I was going to sing a song in the show?" I glanced around as if an explanation was going to pop out of nowhere. Akame groaned.
"Honestly Mikan, do you not see the talent in you?" she shrieked. I shrank back and glanced to Hotaru for help. Ignoring my silent plea for help, she munched on her crab brains thoughtfully.
"Okay, okay. Even if I did sing a song, I don't have time to make one up in..3 days!" Eri shrugged.
"So? Work harder for goodness sake!" I crossed my arms and huffed angrily.
"Fine. I'll start right now." My friends grinned happily and trooped out the door. Sighing, I sat down at my writing desk and started on the song.
Three hours later, I stretched my arms and stood up. That should be good enough. Walking out to the window, I sighed dreamily, gazing out at the moon which seemed so big from here. Suddenly, a crumpled up note caught me by the head. Wincing, I picked up the fallen note and unfurled it.
Meet me by the Sakura tree. You know which one. I need to tell you something.
-N
I frowned. What would Natsume want to tell me at 11:00pm? I shrugged and pulled on my boots and dashed out the door, smoothing my hair as I ran. I jogged over to the Sakura tree and stood beneath it, peering through the branches. Making out Natsume's form on one branch, I smiled and climbed up to sit near him.
"Hey, Natsume!" I greeted softly, as to not disturb the night. He moved his head up and recoiled a bit at the look in his eyes. It showed anger, sadness, and something else I couldn't identify.
"Sakura-san," he started. My eyes widened. Since when had he started using formalities with me?
"Natsume," I said slowly. "Why did you.." I trailed off at the end, realizing what that meant. "Oh, no Natsume please-"
"Yes." he cut me off. "We're over." and with that last statement, he jumped off the tree and sprinted towards the boys' dorms. Tears stung in my eyes as I stared after him. Why would he all of a sudden break up with me? What had I done wrong?
I numbly climbed down from the tree and trudged into my room. Throwing myself on the bed, I sobbed silently. An hour passed and the only movement I had made was to grab my I-pod and then I laid on my bed again. Singing the words to the song, I wondered how my life could have changed so dramatically in the past hour.
Behind These Hazel Eyes
By Kelly Klarkson
Seems like just yesterday
You were a part of me
I used to stand so tall
I used to be so strong
Your arms around me tight
Everything, it felt so right
Unbreakable, like nothin' could go wrong
Now I can't breathe
No, I can't sleep
I'm barely hanging on
I gasped and clutched my chest. It hurt so much...
Here I am, once again
I'm torn into pieces
Can't deny it, can't pretend
Just thought you were the one
Broken up, deep inside
But you won't get to see the tears I cry
Behind these hazel eyes
I told you everything
Opened up and let you in
You made me feel alright
For once in my life
Now all that's left of me
Is what I pretend to be
So together, but so broken up inside
'Cause I can't breathe
No, I can't sleep
I'm barely hangin' on
Here I am, once again
I'm torn into pieces
Can't deny it, can't pretend
Just thought you were the one
Broken up, deep inside
But you won't get to see the tears I cry
Behind these hazel eyes
Swallow me then spit me out
For hating you, I blame myself
Seeing you it kills me now
No, I don't cry on the outside
Anymore...
Anymore...
Here I am, once again
I'm torn into pieces
Can't deny it, can't pretend
Just thought you were the one
Broken up, deep inside
But you won't get to see the tears I cry
Behind these hazel eyes
Here I am, once again
I'm torn into pieces
Can't deny it, can't pretend
Just thought you were the one
Broken up, deep inside
But you won't get to see the tears I cry
Behind these hazel eyes
Standing up, I moved to my desk and crumpled up my new song. That wouldn't do now. Not anymore.
Day of the Talent Show (3 days later)-
I woke up and stretched, before nimbly climbing out of bed and trudging into the bathroom. Since it was the talent show and there were no classes today, I grabbed my outfit and hopped into the shower. Ten minutes later, I quickly shut the tap off and wrapped myself in a towel. I surveyed my appearance in the mirror.
It was reasonable. The bags under my eyes two days ago had disappeared and I looked normal again. I sighed, remembering the reason for my not-so-cheerful mood.
"Natsume.." I murmured, closing my eyes. Just as quickly as I closed my eyes, I opened them again and headed towards my chair where I had draped the show's outfit. For once, we didn't have to wear a uniform in the show. I slipped on the clothes and did my make-up and hair.
I looked my self up and down, nodding with approval. I had picked out a pair of black, boot-cut jeans paired with a red, off the shoulder shirt. Tying up my hair into a casual knot, slipping on red sandals, and clipping on diamond studs finished off the look. I swiped some cherry gloss over my lips and placed my mask on, deciding that I would not show anyone who I was when singing.
'Let them wonder.' I thought to myself with a chuckle and stalked out the door and teleported backstage since it was almost time for the show to start. I stayed in the shadows as I didn't want to attract any attention to myself. Narumi pranced on the stage with the cordless mike and danced around. I shook my head in disbelief. Who let Narumi be the MC?
"Ladies and gentlemen!" he called out cheerfully. I could imagine some people wincing at his joyfulness. "Welcome to our talent show! First performer is.." Mikan tuned out after that, only listening when one of her friends were performing. She had requested that she be the last performer in the show and the principal readily agreed. Two hours passed and MIkan stood up, adjusting her mask.
"Now!" Narumi started. " We have the last performance for today. The singer wishes to remain anonymous."Grumbles were heard from the crowd as Mikan stalked onto stage, gripping the mike in her hand. She used her alice to make the instruments play as she started to sing. (I made up this song so please, in u'r reviews, tell me if it's any good. thx!)
My voice is nothing but a distant echo
Swallowed up by the night to you
As I gaze across, the open plane and wonder….
How did this come to be?
How did you crush me to pieces?
Why did you do so, without knowing my true reflection..
Cuz' behind this mask
She and I are just the same
Two for one and one for all
You will never realize the true message given through this song…..
I sweep my eyes across the sea
The water gathers up at my feet
But I don't care to notice…
And I don't care to deny…
That you left me in pieces just like the last one
I thought you'd stay but I guess you're just another one…
But I thought that you were that one…
The one who'd stay by my side when I needed him
The one who'd comfort me when I was down
But no…
You still don't know….
Cuz' behind this mask
She and I are just the same
Two for one and one for all
You will never understand the true message given through this song…..
Your words left me sobbing
Your sneer left me breaking
Opening wounds, I am just realizing
The true fate of love…
The true fate of what I call life…
But when you broke me,
I was slapped by an invisible force
And I can't help but dream what we could've been..
If you really knew…
Cuz' behind this mask
She and I are just the same
Two for one and one for all
You will never understand the true message given through this song…..
But somehow…I still hope..that you will realize me…the real me…
Not the fake one that you thought she was
Cuz' behind this mask
She and I are just the same
Two for one and one for all
You will never understand the true message given through this song…
But I still hope….
I trailed off and lowered the mike. At first it was one person, but then another joined, then another, and soon the who auditorium was sounding with a thunderous applause. Bowing, I walked off stage and slipped through the back door. I had no intention of staying through that entire thing.
Suddenly, I stood up, hearing someone beneath my window. Persona slipped in and I mentally groaned. Another one?
"Tonight. Nine o'clock. Outside the Northern forest." I nodded and he left, just as swiftly as he appeared. Seeing that it was already 5:00pm, I rolled back my shoulders and slipped on my running shoes. Might as well get some exercise in before going. Locking the door behind me, I teleported onto the track and started at a slow and easy jog, gaining speed by each lap I took.
Soon, I was sprinting, racing around the track as sweat dribbled down my face. Strangely, I didn't feel exhausted at the least! Maybe Persona's training had worked after all. I glanced at my watch and slowed down to a walk, calming down a bit before teleporting to my room again. Taking a quick shower, I pulled up my hair in a ponytail and slipped on the uniform before setting my mask on my face. I jumped out the window and jogged over to the meeting spot. Natsume and Persona were waiting for me. I ran over and stared at the two of the blankly, purposefully not meeting Natsume's crimson eyes. Persona responded by giving directions to the place and our mission.
Apparently, the AAO had formed a new weapon. So deadly that even looking at it would kill you. But Persona had heard (from his sources) that it was made using an Alice. Our job, was to destroy it and the blueprints they used to build it. With that, we set off, not bothering to converse with each other along the way. THe AAO base wasn't far so we reached the place in a day.
I crouched behind a bush just as the sun was setting. There were twenty guards standing outside. Mentally rolling my eyes, I motioned Natsume over.
"Okay, here's the plan." I whispered. "I'm going to go and stand in one of the trees. When I give you the signal, light the grass on fire. At the same time, I will freeze the rest of the guards. The sudden change in temperature should leave them pretty fazed for at least ten hours. Then we make our move inside. If there are over ninety guards, I'll freeze time and you go through, killing anyone in your way. But if we get to that, you must do it quick because I can't stop time forever. The blueprints should be in the control room on the left side of the building. You go and collect the blueprints while I go and destroy the weapon." I could tell Natsume was going to protest about his role in the mission so I quickly added, "I'm the one with the nullification Alice after all." Then I mentally slapped myself. How could I have almost given my identity away?
"I copied it from someone." I muttered before darting towards a different tree. I waited for the guards to look elsewhere besides Natsume. Then I raised my hand as the signal and made sure Natsume had done his part before coating all the guards in a thick layer of ice. Jumping down from the tree, I followed Natsume into the building and noticed about a hundred guards standing inside, guarding the control room and what I figured to be the room where the weapon was. "Shit." I cursed under my breath and closed my eyes, letting time freeze.
My eyelids fluttered open and I sighed with relief. All the guards were motionless, their eyes a mask of curiosity. I gestured for Natsume to move on and he let his Alice spread, killing all guards. Wincing at the scene in front of me, I took a deep breath and mustered up all my energy to keep the time frozen for as long as I could. Natsume lightly touched my arm to let me know he was done. I exhaled and all the guards collapsed on the floor, dead. Nodding once towards Natsume and we parted ways. I cracked open the door to the weapon and peeked inside, making sure my nullification alice was working completely before I stepped inside.
The weapon simply looked like a bigger version of Hotaru's BAKA gun, only bigger and on a stand. I had to admit, it was kinda scary. My alice wavering slightly, I took a tentative step forwards and felt the fury of the weapon for the first time. An invisible force lashed out and landed a gash on my arm. I winced and moved back, biting my lip so I didn't scream and alert any other guards on patrol. I let myself fill up with nullification before stepping forward again. Nothing. I took another step forward. Nothing.
I smirked, letting my guard down for a split second, and all hell broke loose.
Natsume's POV-
I dashed inside the control room, incinerating the cameras and scanning the room for the blueprints. Noticing a locked cupboard near the floor, I melted the lock and furtively pulled it open. Sighing with relief, I pulled out the blueprints and turned them to ashes. A loud crash was heard from the room next to me and a surprised scream followed shortly after. Groaning, I sprinted towards the sound, praying that the girl didn't hurt herself. Kicking in the doors, I was immediately pushed back out by shiro-neko.
"Get out!" she screamed, tugging me along while she sprinted towards the exit. "The weapon is going to self-destruct in thirty seconds and I changed it to ten seconds by accident. MOVE!" she yelled. As soon as she slammed the doors open, the entire building exploded, throwing us back at least twenty feet. I moaned as my head made contact with a tree and fell limply to the ground, laying there for a moment before sitting up again. The entire building was engulfed in flames, melting and burning everything in it.
I felt the girl teleport us back a bit so we could take a breather. As I laid back down, I felt my head carefully and when I pulled my hand back, it was covered with a red liquid, staining my clothes. The girl finally noticed that my head was gushing blood out and she let out a surprised squeak.
"Oh my god, Natsume." she exclaimed. "I'm so sorry!" I shook my head, wincing from the movement. She gingerly touched the back of my head with her hand and I felt some warmth coming from it. When she pulled her hand away, I sat up and twisted my head around. It didn't hurt anymore! The girl looked around uncomfortably before leaning against a tree trunk and sighing.
"Hey." I started softly. She looked up at me. "I need to tell you something." The girl shrugged.
"Okay, go on." I took a deep breath.
"I- I know we haven't known each other a long time and stuff," I started, "but I think I'm in love with you." Her head snapped up and she stared at me, her eyes widening in shock. Then she looked away. I fidgeted.
"It won't work out Natsume. Trust me." Pain was clearly evident in her voice as she spoke. I raised an eyebrow.
"Why not?"
"You don't know me. At all, I mean." she said. I shrugged.
"So?" The girl looked at me as if I was crazy.
"So? What do you mean, so?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Natsume, I'm sure that if you knew who I really was, you wouldn't be telling me this. You would still be living your fairytale with Mikan Sakura. Not break up with her and go and confess to a girl you barely know." My eyes widened. "And before you ask how I knew, I have my sources." I frowned and stood up, pulling off my mask.
"Then show me. What's your name and what you look like?" She glared at me and shook her head.
"No way. I- I'd be-" she groaned and smacked her head back against the tree. "You wouldn't understand." The girl stood up and crossed her arms. "Never." "This is all just an act. This is not even my real personality. It's Persona's rules and I have to play by them."
"What wouldn't I understand?" I questioned. When she didn't answer, I smirked. "Fine. I'll find out for myself." I lunged to the side, catching my partner completely off guard and ripping the mask off her face. She turned away from me, placing her hands over her face.
"Natsume." she growled. "Give. The. Mask. Back." I shook my head and smirked.
"If you want it, all you have to do is turn around and get it." She shook her head furiously.
"Give it back. Natsume. I'm dead serious." Her voice was firm but it wavered in the middle. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed one her hands and pulled it away. She turned her head farther back.
"Well?" I challenged. All of a sudden, I could hear sobs.
"Natsume *sob* I'm serious. *sob* I need you *sob* to give me back *sob* my mask." Stunned, I loosened my grip on her, but before she could escape, I twirled her around so she was facing me. Finally I got to see...Mikan? Her tear-streaked face stared back at me, her eyes filled with sorrow, pain, and a hint of anger. I released her hand in shock and she grabbed the mask back, but didn't put it back on. She stared at the ground while I tried to put together my scattered thoughts.
Now it made sense! All the bruises and injuries, why she'd been so distant from me lately, and her secret meetings in the morning. And I had thought that she was meeting someone else so I had tried to move on.
"Natsume-" she choked out, stepping back, before passing out from blood loss. I realized that she had a deep wound in her arm that I failed to notice before. Gathering her up, I kissed her forehead before jogging off towards the hospital. I wasn't taking any chances going to Gakuen Alice and facing all the questions and...Persona. God dammit' I was going to kill that freak when Mikan was in safe hands.
Mikan's POV-
Opening my eyes, I winced at the bright light that streamed in from the window. Taking in the whitewashed walls and the IV in my arm, I figured that I was at the hospital. But how...My thoughts trailed off as I noticed a sleeping figure beside me.
"Natsume.." I murmured, reaching out to brush his hair back before curling my fingers into a fist and pulling my hand in. I took a deep breath in. I had hurt him so much by being distant. Did I even deserve someone like him now? Natsume stirred, his eyes fluttering open as he yawned and sat up. Rubbing his eyes, he finally noticed that I was awake.
"Oh, Mikan, I'm so sorry! I should've thought twice before I broke up with you! I was-" I placed my hand over his mouth, silencing him.
"It's not your fault." I said softly. "I'm sure I would have done the same if I thought you were with someone else. I know I've been distant lately, but I was scared." Natsume raised an eyebrow.
"Scared of what, Mikan?" I sighed and gazed at him sadly.
"I was scared of hurting you. If I lost control and someone got hurt, I don't know what I would do. And I didn't want you to beat yourself up over what Persona made me do." "I loved you too much." I added. His gaze softened and he leaned in, capturing my lips in a sweet kiss. Pulling back, he smiled at me.
"I don't care. I loved you, I still loved you, and will keep loving you." (okay, I know that line was really cheesy and Natsume is kinda OOC at this point, but please don't hurt me!) Tears filled my eyes and I closed my eyes savoring this moment as he hugged me again.
Nothing was going to tear us apart ever again.
Or so we thought so...
Yay! Done with this chapter...and the story! Okay, so I need you all to tell me if I should write a sequel, continue the story, or just end it the way I did.
Thanks to the people who were with me all the way!
-Arigatou!